So, Ray Zhang… I’ve mentioned him before. He’s an artist who wants to do a comic and is looking for a writer. Lucky for Ray, I know just the guy… me.

Now that I have Ray on the team, the first thing I do is hand him the So-Called Living script, and see what he can do with it. The outcome was both good and bad. You see, Ray’s style isn’t really suited for SCL, it’s got an old Japanese anime style to it, which is cool, just not a good fit for this script.

When I tell Ray what I think, he tells me he understands, and wants to learn how to draw a little more “Westernized” style of comic (FYI: He’s from China), to which I replied, “Don’t you dare!” I love the old school anime Ray brings to the table, so I tell him that I’m going to write up a new story that would best suit his style and interests, and that this can be a story we collaborate on. Ray’s all excited.

I’ve got some sad news :( As it turns out, Michele and I may not be working together on So-Called Living after all. Why you ask? Well, for two reasons.

1. An opportunity for her to work on storyboards in Thailand has turned its ugly head (ugly for me that is, great news for her).

2. The cost for hiring Michele was a little more than I could afford at the moment. I am willing to pay an artist to draw So-Called Living, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that… well, when it comes to the finances, I need to go back to the drawing board.

So what do I do now? Do give up is what!

After my meeting with Michele, I had a talk with a few people at FanExpo in Toronto, namely Jim Zub, creator of Skull Kickers, and Corey Reid, creator of Reform School Ninja Girls. Both were very informative.

Before FanExpo I had a script, and no plan. I was floundering , no idea what to do next, but now I have a direction. Where will it lead?… I’ll keep you posted.

Back in the day when My Singing Monsters (one of our games here at Big Blue Bubble) was just an idea, I was asked to write a short story for it. What I wrote didn’t really fit where the game was going, but I rode the inspiration wave just the same. One of the artists on the project Chris Elliott sent me a few of his monster drawings to help get my creative juices flowing and this is what came out…

THIS IS A RE-POST FROM MY OTHER BLOG SITE THAT NO LONGER EXISTS, SO SOME OF YOU MIGHT HAVE READ THIS ALREADY.

A simple poem inspired by the works of the fine artists here at Big Blue Bubble.

Banner art by: Chris Elliott

In times of great despair, when the situation looks most bleak, the creatures of good will rise to see us through the evil. When darkness was all that we knew, and fear was all around us, the creatures of light came to beat back the darkness and chase away our fear. When the land dried and cracked along with our hopes, the creatures of rain showered us with new life and new possibilities, and when the silence, so deafening, muted our inspiration, the creatures of music filled our lives with song and fuelled our imaginations.